Visit St. Croix and You Won’t Want To Leave!

The East End of St. Croix. It is so peaceful!

Gentle breezes follow you everywhere. Shades of blue oceans cool your mind and soul. Visitors stare at the iridescent waters as if they have been drugged by the gods of the sea. Divers and snorkelers dot the beaches like visitors from outer space. Free-range Roosters heckle you.

Snorkeling Advice from Tom.

Snorkeling at Buck Island!

“The guidebooks recommended to snorkel the pier at Fredriksted, but I was sceptical and wrong. The types and colors of coral were amazing. There were more colors than I have ever seen anywhere else. The water here is extremely calm and the fish are also abundant. I was treated to a visit by a friendly turtle and a Barracuda. It is the best snorkeling on the island and about $75 less than Buck Island tour. (Buck Island trip is worth the $75.) Make reservations to go to Buck Island during high season.”

More on the Creatures.

They were everywhere!

Tiny Geckos crawl under and around your feet and up the walls, and if you are unlucky a crab will attach itself to your leg. I didn’t even feel it. Mosquitos and sand fleas feed on you. I think they love the smell of “Off.” While dining at the Avocado Pit in Christiansted on the pier (such a lovely sight), a huge bird flew at me and landed one inch away from my plate with its beak in my face. It scared me and I jumped and wouldn’t you know, I strained my back and side. Dern bird!

This is at Rhythms north of Fredriksted.

At outdoor restaurants (and most are outdoors) birds, cats, and sometimes dogs feast on your crumbs. The earth moves around you whenever you sit–crabs that look like rocks–keep moving and moving and moving. The restrooms on Buck Island have been taken over by huge crabs! And I mean huge!

The crabs are placed in the middle of this circle and the first one to crawl over it wins.

Here is a closeup of some of the crabs with names on them!

Have you ever been to a crab race? Last night Tom’s crab named “Chuck” (named for our deceased Charlie) came in first and he won $25. The races were awesome with people screaming for their crab. Betting on dogs or horses is nothing like betting on a crab!

The Locals.

People talk to you in St. Croix if you are on the beach, at your table in a restaurant, on the street, coming out of the water, on a catamaran, standing next to a sign in front of the fort in Christiansted, you name it, they talk to you. We met some wonderful people. Brenda and Harry took care of us on the beach at our hotel and recommended restaurants like Cheeseburgers in the East End and Rhythms in Fredriksted.

Take a look on google and read about the devastation of this hurricane!

A waitress at a Maria’s Cantina gave us the lowdown on what it was like on the island during Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Ninety percent of the homes were destroyed. Prisoners escaped. All the stores were looted. They had no electricity or water for months. The National Guard and others came to “save” the people. We talked to another person who said that he and his daughter survived the storm.

None of the photos of the dancing are clear. At the end they took a bow!

Probably the most unusual people experience we had was watching the locals perform the quadrille. The dancing was fabulous and Tom joined them.

The Moko-jumbie dance and jump and carry-on on stilts!

Another treat was learning about the sky-high Moko-jumbie dancers that go back to the times of slaves.

Island Fever?

We met a fella in his fifties who had sold his business and was just traveling around from island to country to island. He was going to move to Maui but it bored him. His home is in New Mexico and he might go home soon. While on the island, he got a job at Home Depot. He said that no one really talked to him.

This wanderer looked like a small monster from a horror movie. He had bleached his hair bright blonde and had it pulled back under a Green Bay Packards Visor (not his team). His beard was also gathered together with a rubber band. He was tattooed til’ the cows come home. The sleeves of the flowered party shirt he was wearing had been torn off and he only used one button of the shirt. His body was pierced and he was wearing lots of jewelry. I guess he did not understand that people were afraid to talk with him? I asked him why he was just traveling around and he said he did not really know why? He was just doing it! And he was trying to stay away from younger folks! Huh?

Should we move to St. Croix?

The boardwalk in Christiansted that we loved!

We met other people who shared their condo stories with us. Two of them told us where we could purchase very nice condos for $60K. We could hardly believe the stories. We spun around several condo communities planted on beaches. A savvy real estate person showed us two very nice properties right on the ocean with a view to die for. They were $139 and a penthouse for $189 with towering wood ceilings. So if you want a beach front condo, St. Croix is the place for you!

Capturing St. Croix is a pretty tall assignment.

Drenched on Buck Island!

I did not want this blog to sound as if it came from Frommers! And I did not want to fill it full of the things I really enjoy like architecture, history, and culture! Four hundred photos would not fit in this post!

Some day, if you haven’t already, make a trek to St. Croix and experience the peaceful lifestyles. There is so much more than crystal blue waters, good food, and a beach waiting for you.